Democrats Offer Plan for Fast Inquiry / But House almost sure to use long, open-ended approach

Marc Sandalow, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, October 3, 1998

1998-10-03 04:00:00 PDT Washington -- House Democrats advanced a plan yesterday to end the inquiry into President Clinton's conduct by Thanksgiving, hoping to tap into the public's disgust for the long sex saga and thwart Republican plans for more thorough impeachment hearings.

As the House prepares to open only its third impeachment inquiry in history, Democrats outlined a procedure that would limit the investigation to matters related to Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky, allow for a punishment short of impeachment and settle the matter by November 25.

The Democratic alternative stands little chance of being accepted by the Republican majority when the House votes next week. Instead, it is intended to serve other purposes:

It provides Democrats a way to cast ballots in favor of an inquiry without accepting the open-ended Republican proposal. And at a time when Democrats fear the scandal's effect on the November election, it positions them as the party trying to move Washington beyond its obsession with the president's sex life.

"I would suggest that that is precisely what the public expects us to do," said Representative John Conyers, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. "Get this matter resolved fully, get it resolved fairly, get it resolved completely. And get it resolved in the very near future so that the matter does not become a distraction to the public and to the country for many months into the coming year."

Republicans quickly rejected the proposal, saying there is no way to digest and cast judgment on the evidence in such a short time-frame.

The proposal "is certainly made to order for the White House but not for the American people," said Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill. Republicans have called for an open-ended inquiry that would not be limited to the Lewinsky investigation, modeled after the Watergate proceedings in 1974.

"An artificial time limit . . . gives the other side an incredible temptation to run out the clock," said Representative James Rogan, R-Pasadena.

Rogan quoted former Representative Peter Rodino, the New Jersey Democrat who chaired the Judiciary Committee during former President Richard Nixon's impeachment hearings, as saying that a deadline "would be totally irresponsible and unwise."

The volatility of the issue, coming just five weeks before an election, makes it an awkward topic for many Democrats. Although most have condemned the president's behavior, they do not want to hand Republicans an opportunity to attack their party's leader through the end of his term, nor do they want to look like they are letting him off the hook.

Seven of the 10 Democrats who represent the Bay Area in Congress refused requests for interviews this week to discuss how they intend to vote on the inquiry.

"This is not why I became a congressman," Campbell said, expressing his desire to return to less titillating matters. "I want to talk about capital gains cuts. I want to talk about extraterritorial jurisdiction for civil litigation."

The House Judiciary Committee will hold public hearings on the matter starting Monday morning and is expected to vote on both the Republican and Democratic inquiry resolutions no later than Tuesday. The full House is expected to vote Friday.

Representative Zoe Lofgren, D- San Jose, the Bay Area's sole representative on the committee, said she expects to vote against the Republican plan.

"I need to listen to their argument," she said. "With what I know now, I would not vote for it."

Other Bay Area Democrats who were willing to discuss the matter also said they do not expect to support the Republican resolution.

"I certainly will not support a far-ranging fishing expedition as proposed by the Republicans," said Representative Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. Pelosi said such an inquiry would "not be in our national interest" both because of the nature of the charges and the "opportunity lost to pursue other matters" such as Social Security, health care, education and the environment.

Estimates as to how many Democrats will vote for the Republican proposal range from as few as a dozen to as many as 100. The measure will almost certainly pass, even without any Democratic support, but an inquiry that followed a party-line vote would probably be taken less seriously by the public.

Pelosi said she can't imagine that "more than a handful" of California Democrats would support the inquiry as conceived by Republicans, adding, "It could be none."

That is exactly what some Democrats want.

"My hope is that it is a party- line vote, and we show this for the partisan issue it is," said Representative Pete Stark, D-Hayward, who also said he plans to vote "no."

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Stark called the president's behavior "stupid" and "despicable," but said he does not see anything in independent counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation that would warrant impeachment. If Republicans persist, he warned, it might be "time to pull out the divorce record (of Republicans) . . . and start leaking them."

Democrats are keenly aware of polls showing that the public is tired of the scandal, and some have expressed hope that a backlash against Republicans for pursuing the investigation will boost Democratic candidates in November's election.

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